The Mallrats had sat together and talked over who would go and who would stay. Trudy had volunteered to stay behind with the children, Gel also, although Amber suspected it was more the fact the girl didn't want to rough it anymore than she had to. Ruby was willing to along with them, but Amber voiced her concern that she was still weak from the accident before they had arrived. She was growing from strength to strength each week, but after a few of the others voiced their concern of her going she agreed to stay behind with Trudy. Sammy would stay also, along with Lottie who Amber decided were too young to tag along.
Lex of course she knew would be going and didn't even ask him if he wanted to go or stay, Jay also. Jack was also insisting on going, and it was hopeless to expect Ellie to stay behind if Jack went. Salene also volunteered to leave, but also voiced concerns of leaving Trudy alone to deal with the children, as she knew Gel and Sammy wouldn't be much help, and it wasn't fair to leave all the work to Ruby and Trudy alone. Amber knew go or stay Salene would be a strength to either party, going or staying.
"I'll stay, let Salene go with you guys" volunteered May
All eyes fell upon her at this point.
"I'll stay behind, help Trudy keep the kids under control. It isn't fair loading them onto the Speleos, and leaving Trudy and Ruby to handle everything by themselves. Plus, Salene you have more folks to look for remember"
"May, we're all searching for people" replied Salene softly, grateful of May's thoughts.
"Yeah I know, but you've been a Mallrat longer than me. That's your family out there, I really think you should go"
"Guess that's settled, Sals with us" said Amber, "Ebony? Slade?"
"You really think you can cope without me?" said Ebony with a sigh
"No I don't. I know we need you with us, however everyone here gets an option" said Amber matter of factly
"You have my answer" replied Ebony
"I'm with you guys to," added Slade
"There's no way I'm staying here any longer than I have to" said Ram "The cave dwelling is becoming boring relatively quickly. I could do with a change of scenery"
"Darryl, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I think you should stay behind." Said Amber, looking over to him, before he could voice his opposition she continued "You've been working well with the Speleos, your catching on quickly to how they do things around here. I just think that with the Speleos losing Stealth, who's coming with us, it would be best for kind of trade off. Its another pair of hands for them to use if the Gulls give them any trouble."
Darryl, shut his mouth and gave the moment a thought before nodding in agreement.
"Fine I'll stay behind" he said quietly
It was decided, and the search party spent most of the three days with thoughts of what the next week or so would bring them. Most with hopes of success, others concerned with the dangers that may befall them. They all spent time each day with Stealth and Moss in the glade above the cliffs, learning some last minute techniques of fighting in case of emergencies.
The evening before they were to leave the Speleos threw a large party of sorts. The two tribes took advantage of the evening, knowing it was going to be the last they saw each other for a while. Although no-one voiced it, minds drifted over the thoughts that maybe a few wouldn't return, or that their search would be unsuccessful. As the evening drew on, people started retiring to their sleeping quarters.
Amber and Trudy settled down on their soft beds, near to their sleeping children. Trudy propped herself up on an elbow, resting her head on an upturned palm and looked at Amber.
"Nervous?" she asked
"Yeah, nervous, afraid, excited for the adventure" said Amber, looking over at her friend who she had grown to see as a sister in latter years, despite their somewhat rocky relationship at times "Just can't help feeling guilty"
"Guilty?" said Trudy quizzically, before realisation dawned on her "Amber, Bray will be safe her. You're not going to be gone long"
"What if I am, what if something happens and I don't come back?" said Amber in a quiet voice
"Amber you will come back. You're stubborn that way. I doubt anyone could stop you returning to your son" replied Trudy, sitting up a little more and reaching her hand over to her friend which Amber took gratefully "You have to come back anyway, do you really think I'll be able to cope with Gel, Lottie for more than a week, two weeks tops. Heck after a few days I'll be stark raving mad pulling my hair out"
Trudy smiled as Amber looked over at her about to object. Amber smiled as her friend grinned and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"True, I suppose it isn't fair leaving the Speleos to cope with you" said Amber with a giggle
"Hey" said Trudy, releasing Amber's hand and giving her a soft dig instead before lying back down on her bed. "I'll miss you guys"
"Yeah, you'll be too busy looking after the little ones to notice us gone, and then we'll be back before you stress out too much" said Amber sleepily, turning on her side and getting comfortable
"Still..." said Trudy with a yawn
"We'll miss you too Trudy" said Amber, before yawning herself "Well, most of us"
Trudy gave a soft smile and turned to face her friend, pulling a blanket over herself
"Goodnight Amber"
"Night" replied Amber
They were both sleeping as Jay approached the beds. He cast and eye over the two little ones lying close to their mothers, before lying down by Amber. She shifted softly for a moment as he settled beside her and dropped a kiss to her neck gently and pulled the blanket half covering her over himself also, lying close to her, sliding an arm over her waist and holding her tight.
Jack and Ellie lay in each other's arms, wide-awake, face to face. Nether spoke; they merely lay quietly, enjoying the comforting feel of each other in the darkness of the cave. They listened to the soft murmuring of the people around them, not hearing conversation but merely hushed familiar voices nearby. Thoughts went through each other's mind of what they would find in the days ahead, of who they may find if the were successful of the dangers of other tribes they may face.
Jack watched as Ellie's eyes slowly drifted to a close, and listened as her breathing slowed and steadied as she fell asleep, an arm still draped over his back softly, the other tucked under her pillow. It was some time before he fell asleep himself, comfortable just lying watching the woman he loved sleep peacefully in his arms.
Lex lay on his back, staring into the nothingness above. He'd listened to the quiet conversation of Trudy and Amber from afar, and as they had fell silent to sleep. He stared into the darkness of the cave as he heard others taker to their beds, as Jay passed quietly to lie beside Amber. He heard the soft murmuring of Ebony and Slade and of Salene and May also whispering together.
He lay alone, raising his arms before interlocking his hands behind his head and making himself more comfortable. He pondered on how being surrounded by so many people; one could still feel so lonely and individual. It wasn't until the voices stilled, and the breathing of many sleeping bodies became the sound of the night that he started to drift into sleep himself.
Amber found herself waking early the following morning. Jays arm held her lightly, and she could feel the warmth of his body as he slept spooned up against her. The cave was filled with breathing sounds of sleeping tribe members.
Expertly sliding out from Jays grasp, she sat up and looked about to see if anyone else had risen early. Lex's bed was empty, as was May and Salene's. Looking past the nearby sleeping Trudy she noted the sleeping bodies of the two little ones and gave a soft smile. Quietly she pulled on her boots, picked up a blanket and picked her way through the cave.
May and Salene were busying themselves with food preparation along with a few others of the Speleos. They were huddled close together and were whispering softly as they sorted out a fire to cook over. Noticing Amber they gave her a smile, which she returned continuing on through the cave to the entrance/exit.
She liked early mornings on the cliffs, especially on a day when the sun was rising early, casting glorious colours across the sky, amidst low lying clouds which would have dispersed by mid morning. She knew she was going to miss this place, and for the umpteenth time over the past four days, wondered when she'd be back to see it again. Amber had filled her head with optimism, that they'd be successful in their journey, their mission, even if they found one lost survivor, it was enough. But a small seed of doubt had implanted itself inside her and wouldn't be moved. So she ignored it and refused to allow it to grow any bigger.
Despite the early morning sun, the sea breeze made her shiver and she wrapped the blanket loosely about her shoulders before wandering along the path to the upper cliffs. As she neared the cliff top there was movement nearby, from one of the trees which grew from the cliff face and overhung down to the sandy beaches below. Pausing Amber watched as Stealth nimbly climbed down the gnarled trunk to the pathway.
"Oh morning Amber" smiled Stealth softly
"Hey" smiled Amber politely, although a shudder always ran down her spine when she saw how nimble the Speleos were at climbing the cliff faces or alighting the trees of the cliff faces. "Been up there all night?"
"No, no, I just needed some time alone," replied Stealth "Speaking of which, do you want to..."
Stealth motioned with her hands that she'd disappear if Amber wanted to think by herself.
"No, I just needed some fresh air. I woke early, didn't want to wake everyone else up before its time to start getting ready to leave. Everyone should get as much rest as possible"
"We do have a long journey ahead of us," nodded Stealth
They started moving up towards the cliff top together
"So you all set for this?" asked Stealth
"Guess so," shrugged Amber "I just...can't help thinking about who we're leaving behind, what we're getting into, what we may find"
"Your people will be safe here," reassured Stealth as they alighted the cliff tops, the breeze picking up a little more. She was about to continue but another figure on the cliff tops caused her to pause.
Amber looked from Stealth over to Lex who sat at his favoured place of the cliffs, a small collection of boulders. Pulling the blanket closer around her she smiled lightly and looked back to Stealth.
"So what are the plans for today?" she asked, they'd been over it a few times but she felt she needed to keep asking, if only to reassure herself that they had a plan of sorts. Thankfully Stealth had been patient throughout and answered all her questions, despite them being asked over and over.
"We move with the high tide round to the east beaches, the market should be up and running by the time we arrive. I'll make contact with a few people there, arrange some places for us to stay for the next few nights and we can get going. We have enough supplies with us to keep us going until we reach certain destinations along the way. You could get lucky, despite their ill treatment and threats a few slaves do escape and manage to make a life for themselves, you may meet a few of your friends that way" replied Stealth, focusing back onto Amber
"When the chosen were brought down they had a few devout followers still trying to gather up support. News takes a while to travel to these parts, but eventually word got through that they had been immobilised. People revolted, and drove the few devouts out of town so to speak. There have been rumours that they did start up again, but its all speculation. They certainly haven't been back here. We already knew, that is, the Gulls knew of their demise, they easily switch alliances, anything for profit. The Technos just took over where the chosen left off when it came to dealing with us, which is about the same time I left the Gulls."
"You mean escaped," corrected Amber
"I got lucky," shrugged Stealth "Lucky in escaping them, not once but twice and for the Speleos being so forgiving. Course maybe, I should have told you all this before"
She looked over to Lex once more, his back was to them, but she could tell from the way he sat that he was aware they were there.
"Then we could have made a move to look for your people a little sooner"
"Don't beat yourself up about it," reassured Amber "Look we wouldn't have been able to do anything until now anyway. It took time for Lex to recover, and we all needed to learn to trust each other. Heck it took me this long to bring my Tribe together"
"Mallrats," frowned Stealth "No offence but weird name"
"Speleos?" responded Amber in an equally questioning tone
"Means Cave dwellers," answered Stealth with a smile
"Mallrats. That's where we lived, in an old abandoned Mall in the city. At first it was just Jack there, then one day a few of us all just arrived there, we learned to live with each other" said Amber "In fact Lex came up with the name. OK so it's not very original, but its come to mean something to most of us over the years"
"Like surnames did in the pre-virus days" nodded Stealth
"Yeah I guess so," agreed Amber
They stood overlooking the sea as it stretched out away from them, far below from the cliff base to far off miles of the horizon.
"Well we should really start preparing to leave," said Amber after a few minutes of easy silence. "I'm going to head back down, are you coming?"
"I'll follow you down" smiled Stealth, "There's something I should try and clear up first"
"Ok, just be careful don't stand near any cliff edges for long" she grinned before she started back down the path
"Lex?" said Stealth as she approached warily. Since the revelations by Ram a few days before about her dealings with the slaves, Lex had stubbornly avoided all contact with her. He'd continued his staunch silence and kept his back turned to her.
"Lex, you can't avoid me forever" she pressed, growing a little tired of the silent routine as she stood by the rocks where he propped himself up. She rolled her eyes, and gave a sigh. "If you gave me a chance I could at least try and explain a few things to you"
"There's nothing to explain," said Lex coldly "To be honest, I don't want to hear it"
"Lex..."
"You lied Stel, and I don't take kindly to liars"
Stealth held her tongue on a retort; she'd been warned of Lex's temperament over the past weeks, of his stubborn attitude and the bad habit of looking after number one. She'd noticed small things herself, but after their ordeal with the Gulls, after he'd stayed behind and fought by her, well she held a certain respect for him for that.
"That isn't fair Lex," she insisted "I never lied about anything, anyone who asked questions got their answers. We've known each other a mere four weeks, you don't find out that much about people within four weeks"
"You knew our story, you knew where we came from, what we escaped from" retaliated Lex, as he stood and turned to face her, dark eyes accusingly at her.
"And that's supposed to tell me that people we moved from one place to the next were somehow connected to you all," she questioned "Give me a break Lex, you can't be that stupid"
"You had all the information, you had to at least have an idea of who Ram and Jay were," he shouted "You could have put two and two together"
"What and you couldn't?" retorted Stealth "You knew where I'd come from, knew my part with the Gulls. And you know they are slave traders, why didn't you put two and two together?"
Stealth wondered whether it was going to be an ever on going stalemate. She'd been so caught up with the happenings of the past four weeks; dealings with her own tribe as well as the new one staying with them. Organising, talking, training, keeping a watch out for Gull packs and other travellers. Being a leader wasn't an easy task. And she hadn't had time to piece things together, although she may have eventually realised her dealings with the Gulls may have held clues and connections to the Mallrats and where they had come from.
She sighed and folded her arms; the cold wind was picking up and causing goosebumps to fleck up on her arms.
"Look, this is getting us nowhere, we're making a move on things now" she said, "I just want to know we can move on from this."
They'd gotten closer and she lay a hand on his arm as she spoke, she felt they'd become friends over the past few weeks and didn't want to lose that, despite his usual foul mood she'd learned to put up with it and he was an excellent sparring partner. But Lex stubborn ways weren't going to let the matter drop, and she knew there was a deeper reason for his animosity towards her, Tai-San. Salene had explained it all to her, but she hadn't brought the subject up with Lex. And now was certainly not the time too.
Lex moved his face closer to hers but it was an aggressive move and he gruffly removed his arm from her touch.
"Consider it moved on" he snarled at her before he moved past her, pushing her away slightly.
Stealth took in another deep breath and stared out at the far off horizon, where the sky met the sea. It was going to be a long week.
By mid morning the party were assembled by the docking bay, a hidden section, down by the caves, safe from the Gull packs that sometimes roamed the beaches. The Speleos kept their small fleet of fishing oats there, fishing on the east coast and using the boats as a means to go to the East Beaches and trade their wares at the market which convened twice a week. It was their way of keeping in touch with civilisation without having to be right in the middle of it. Most of the Speleos lined the way down to the hidden bay, crouching on rocks and bidding their farewells.
Stealth paused by Moss as she made her way to the boats. He lay a hand on her arm and she gave him a warm smile and a brief hug.
"Sure you don't want me to go with you?" he asked, a loyal friend since she'd joined the Speleos.
Stealth was tempted with the other, in fact she they'd talked it over, but it had been decided he was better off staying behind. He was a competent marksman, and if the Gulls decided to attack, they needed him to help fight and protect. She felt a little more at ease knowing he was going to be there to help the others.
"No," she replied shaking her head, but fighting back the temptation to tell him to come with her "But its best for you to stay behind"
"Who's going to watch your back?" he asked with a grin
"Are you saying I can't take care of myself?" she smiled back at him before stepping back and looking down at the waiting boats as people started loading onto them
Moss handed her, her escrima stick and sling.
"Just, come back in one piece" he said quietly, before grinning and giving her a friendly punch on the arm "Actually just make sure you come back"
"I will, and perhaps with a few more folks than I'm taking with me" laughed Stealth "Bye"
"Bye"
She continued her way down the path, one of the boats had already started away from its moorings and the second was following. Sully helped her onto the last boat, and she set her things onto the floor before turning and taking in the sight of her tribe members and Mallrats loitering on the cliffs. She stayed and watched the cliffs as the boat headed for the open sea, turning east, until the view was blocked by other high rising cliffs as they started out on their journey.
It took a good hour to make the journey to the east beaches and the three boats made the journey with relative ease. The wind was up enough to give them some speed in the sails and the sea had a pleasant choppy feel. Eventually the beaches came into view and they guided the boats into the moorings of one of the docks. Along with themselves, Sully had brought a small party to trade wares and Stealth helped him and the others unload their cargo. They eventually led the mallrats away from the docks into the market which at mid day was thriving.
A few greetings were called out, and more than one person paused to talk to them. After helping Sully and his small crew with their wares, Stealth turned to the mall rats who were gazing about cautiously.
"I suggest we split up for a while, no point in wandering in a big party. Some of you could stick around here with Sully and the others, or take a look around the market. I'm going to go and put in a few favours to some folks. Amber you want to join me?"
"Sure" agreed Amber
"I'll come too" added Jay who stood nearby
"OK, well we'll meet back here in about an hour" said Stealth.
The rest of the group merely nodded, a few wandering off, a few settling by the stall Sully was standing by. Stealth led Jay and Amber through the market place.